So for the past year I've been reading Invincible Iron Man. Last time I wrote about the merits of the art work, now I've come back with a jot about how to get into reading comics.
Dumb question, idiot. You go to a shop, pick up a few comics and start reading. Your blog is no longer worth reading, go home and hang your head in shame.
Actually what I meant was, when it comes to characters with a long history where do you start?
Here's how I got into Iron Man and some of my personal dos and don'ts.
Through word of mouth, I started with the story arc entitled "Extremis". It was a well written story and served the purpose of being a retelling of the Iron Man origin story via a flashback of sorts. A simple but clever way (it could also be considered a reboot/retcon but we'll leave that for another time). This story is very accessible to new readers, not only that it is also readily available as a trade paperback or hardback.
I moved onto Fraction and Larroca's Invincible Iron Man, beginning with "The Five Nightmares" story arc. Again, not only was it readily available in the shops, it required only the smallest amount of knowledge about the Iron Man mythos. Sure there were references to Obadiah Stane (a notorious villain from 1982), but to the credit of the writers they provided sufficient backstory/exposition. As a new reader, I was not overwhelmed at all.
11 volumes of Invincible Iron Man later, and I moved onto older stories such as "Armour Wars" and "Heart of Darkness." You need to go into a story like "Armour Wars" (#225-232) with an open mind about the artwork if you're to enjoy what is a great story arc (same goes for the "Iron Monger" arc). The artwork is a product of its time, nothing inherently wrong with it but the influence of the 80s is clear in the fashion. Five words. Tony Stark has a perm.
Obviously I'm going backwards here but I'm sure I'm not the only one to do this when reading comics. The highly enjoyable "Extremis" and Fraction and Larroca's tenure were my gateway into Iron Man.
Don't make the early stories from Tales of Suspense (1968) your fist foray into Iron Man. These are important landmarks and I know my reading order is very much backwards, but reading them first would be like trying to introduce movies to someone who has never seen one. With a century of cinema behind us, you don't send him off to watch a silent film first. Besides, the Mandarin of the 1960s is a VERY racist caricature. You'll want to read the stories I mentioned. Also, tales like "Heart of Darkness" and "Haunted" will allow you to get a feel for this character and understand why he's so deadly. You'll see the Mandarin at his best (when he's not a yellow peril villain). In terms of artwork and writing, the 1960s aren't quite a match for the modern stuff, but with a bit of seasoning you can read these and appreciate them on their own terms.
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